A MESSAGE FROM GARCIA: Yes, You Can Succeed

A decorated military officer and founder of the Sterling Financial Group shares the secrets of success that made his company the fastest growing Hispanic-owned business. As a recent law school graduate, Garcia was on the brink of accepting a clerkship for a judge, when he took the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator Test (he suggests a variety of personality tests to discover potential). The test results convinced him that he would be happier going into business. According to Garcia, the key to success is finding out what you are passionate about and pursuing it. In order to accomplish this, he recommends a number of less-than-original strategies such as adequate planning and preparation, hooking up with successful people, finding a mentor and persevering despite setbacks. Laced throughout this manual are anecdotes that describe the author's considerable accomplishments (he is a former White House fellow) and those of others who have used the tools described here to realize their dreams. He draws heavily from the military and the Republican political establishment to illustrate his ideal of success (e.g., William Bennett, Ronald Reagan, Army Major General Loeffke, Jeb Bush). Since Garcia has achieved success, those just starting out in business may be inspired to try his techniques, but many others will be put off by a relentless positive style. (Oct.)

Forecast: Wiley is pushing this book, and is heavily concentrating on the Hispanic readership.